A Time to Live, a Time to Die (1985)
This depiction of childhood and adolescence draws heavily from the filmmaker's own boyhood. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Hsiao-Hsien Hou
Written By: Hsiao-Hsien Hou, T'ien-wen Chu
Starring: Feng Tien, Fang Mei, Shu-fang Chen, Lai-Yin Yang, An-Shun Yu, Shufen Xin, Ru-Yun Tang, Su-ying Wu, Mei-Feng, Hsiang-ping Hu, Yu-Yuen Tang, Chih-chen Chen
Genre: Drama
Franchise: "Coming of Age" trilogy by Hou Hsiao-Hsien
AKA: Tong nien wang shi
Country: Taiwan
Where to Stream
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A Time to Live, a Time to Die belongs to 30 collections
1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (collaborative: moderated by kozan26 - 234 stars)
2. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2008 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 39 stars)
3. Jonathan Rosenbaum's Top 1000 Movies (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 38 stars)
4. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2010 revision) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 32 stars)
5. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 30 stars)
6. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2014 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Jehan - 27 stars)
7. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2012 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 25 stars)
8. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2017 revision) (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 22 stars)
9. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)
10. Best of criticker: Drama (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 18 stars)
11. Coming Of Age (collaborative - 16 stars)
12. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2013 revision) (collaborative: moderated by rant1229 - 16 stars)
13. FIPRESCI Prize (collaborative: moderated by paulofilmo - 14 stars)
14. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2011 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 14 stars)
15. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2020 revision) (public: djross - 14 stars)
16. Sight and Sound 2002 (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 9 stars)
17. Hong Kong Film Awards' List of The Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 6 stars)
18. TSPDT Top 200 Directors: Best Film (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 6 stars)
19. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2007 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 4 stars)
20. The Auteurs World Cup (collaborative - 4 stars)
21. Taiwanese New Wave / New Taiwanese Cinema (collaborative: moderated by tirefeet - 2 stars)
22. Top 50 Most Want to See (public: kendell - 2 stars)
23. Coheed's Celluloid Pit (public: Coheed - 1 star)
24. Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival's 100 Greatest Chinese-Language Films (public: Dr.N0 - 1 star)
25. Derek Malcolm's Century of Films (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha)
26. Further Beyond the Canon (collaborative: moderated by MartinTeller)
27. Films to get (public: Scelsi)
28. Asia/Pacific Top 100 (public: Sleepy Dogs)
29. time was (public: rnest)
30. the LIST (public: peyrin)
Browse the full list of collections
| Date | User | Rating | |
| Aug 22, 2022 | SHOCKULAR | 65 30th |
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This kind of reminded me of the films of Terence Davies, though less aggressively sentimental and with less music. The similarities lay in the episodic presentation of childhood and memory. There are some poignant moments, but I ultimately think it's a bit too slow and doesn't really justify the pacing. It's one of those movies that you can recognize as well done, but is ultimately a bit boring.
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| Jan 08, 2022 | sellis | 73 43rd |
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Beautifully shot, but too tedious and unimmersive to get anything more from it.
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| May 19, 2020 |  |
JPFerguson | 75 80th |
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As the title says, this is a film about living and dying. And the different ways we live and die, explored here with humour and compassion. The ending is particularly potent.
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| Aug 08, 2018 |  |
Icarus | 95 96th |
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A film in which the specific leads us to the universal, Hou's work here is among his best. Without highlighting moments that scream "subtext," Hou instead allows us to appreciate the film at the personal level, even as the unfolding narrative of Ah-hao's growth toward adulthood "progresses" into uncharted territory. This ultimately tragic movement mirrors the philosophical and societal "development" of the 20th century, where we are left staring at the corpse of a once-vibrant tradition.
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| Apr 18, 2018 |  |
Moribunny | 35 19th |
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I really tried to appreciate this as laid-back reminiscing, but it is simply too superficial, humorless and ultimately boring.
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| Apr 01, 2017 |  |
Amadeus | 15 2nd |
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I don't give a fuck about his life. Uninteresting completely.
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| Apr 13, 2012 |  |
goremeat | 79 69th |
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Primarily a film assembled together like clippings of memory paired with internal monologue, it managed to delicately craft a few interesting perspectives on the lives of 5 siblings in changing conditions. I felt a good sense of the characters - especially Ha-hou - through the cautious pacing, but the story was only mildly and intermittently engaging. The photography and lighting were occasionally wonderful, but I can't help but think that Hou has more to offer in his other films.
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| Nov 30, 2011 | theyshoot11 | 84 68th |
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#320
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| Apr 03, 2011 |  |
PeaceAnarchy | 82 67th |
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Meditative film about family struggles and growing up contrasted with Taiwan's parallel changes in social structure. It's rather slow and lacks the impact to justify the pacing, but still flows reasonably well and has a few impacting moments.
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| Jan 13, 2010 | theyshoot10 | 85 70th |
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302
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| Dec 19, 2008 | theyshoot08 | 86 72nd |
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287
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| Mar 01, 2008 | theyshoot07 | 86 77th |
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# 282
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| Feb 07, 2007 |  |
MartinTeller | 67 30th |
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More like A Time to Nap. In content, this movie isn't all that different from other films I enjoy. However Hou fails to bring his characters to life. Without an engaging story, I need something to grab on to, and Hou offers nothing but his own nostalgia. I was just waiting for something, anything, to happen that would capture my interest. The camera offered a few decent moments, but nothing amazing. And the music was too sappy, it added to feeling of being spoon-fed someone else's nostalgia.
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| Average Percentile 70.13% from 229 Ratings |  |